Warriors vie to end skid vs. Blazers

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Golden State Warriors have never lost more than two straight games this season and could be in danger of dropping three in a row when the Portland Trail Blazers visit Oracle Arena Thursday night.

Golden State, though, is 3-0 immediately following a two-game slide.

The top-seeded and NBA-best Warriors will begin the final homestand of the regular season versus Portland, Minnesota, Memphis and Denver. They have won 14 straight at Oracle Arena, where Golden State owns a 35-2 mark. The club record for home wins in a season is 36 set in 1975-76.

Golden State is 21-1 at home versus teams from the West and has won 19 straight in Oakland against conference opponents.

The Warriors went 1-2 on a recent trip and dropped a 103-100 decision at New Orleans on Tuesday, as Tyreke Evans split a pair of go-ahead free throws with 17 seconds left and the Pelicans held on for the win.

Stephen Curry's floater in the paint at the other end didn't drop and Anthony Davis made a pair of foul shots for the three-point cushion.

Curry's right wing 3-pointer at the buzzer rattled in and out. He initially tried to draw a foul on Dante Cunningham, pump faking and leaning into him. No foul was called, however. Curry momentarily lost control of the ball before regaining it, but missed the attempt at the buzzer.

"I thought I drew the foul on the pump fake because he kind of came to me and I got contact," Curry said. "The ball dropped and there was obviously no whistle. I got it right back and I had pretty clean look after that I thought was going in."

Curry ended with 25 points and Draymond Green posted 24 and 14 rebounds for the Warriors, who had a 95-92 lead before the Pelicans went on an 8-0 run. The Warriors had won their previous 10 meetings with New Orleans and finished the regular season with a 28-13 road mark.

The Warriors, champions of the Pacific, have lost two in a row after winning 12 straight.

Andrew Bogut blocked a career-high nine shots.

Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers will make a quick turnaround after dispatching the Timberwolves, 116-91, Wednesday night in the Rose City.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points to go along with 13 rebounds for his 39th double-double, Robin Lopez added 18 points and Damian Lillard finished with 17 and six assists. C.J. McCollum posted 13 points off the bench for the Blazers, who made 49 percent of their shots and outscored Minnesota in every quarter.

"Our guys came into the game locked in. We understand that we want to win every game from here out," Aldridge said.

Aldridge is one double-double away from matching his career-high total of 40 established in 2013-14.

The Northwest-champion Blazers led by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter and are 18-1 in the last 19 home games versus the T-wolves. They had a 53-35 rebounding advantage and a 42-15 difference in bench points.

Portland, which is 8-3 in the last 11 games against Western foes, has won seven of its last nine games overall and is 19-19 on the road. It will host the Utah Jazz Saturday at the Moda Center.

The Warriors aim for a season sweep of the Trail Blazers and took the first two meetings in Rip City. Golden State is 7-2 in the past nine games in this series.